Mismatched Romance
by SSBFreak
Summary: On a mission, Skidd is shot down and thought dead. And while Ratchet seeks revenge on those responsible, Skidd falls for the girl that saves him.
1. Shot Down

Chapter one: Shot Down

**(Phoenix)**

Things were quiet on the Starship Phoenix. During the whole encounter with Dr. Nefarious, the ship was filled with noise, whether it be from Nefarious' troops attacking the ship or Captain Qwark boasting about his many adventures (most of which were probably greatly exaggerated) to the soldiers.

However, after the defeat of Dr. Nefarious, things slowed down to a halt. Qwark had even left the ship to continue his career as a hero (the rest of the crew threw a party after he left). However, the bulky superhero was the only one to leave. Big Al, Helga, Skidd and even Skrunch, Qwark's monkey, stayed on the ship to assist Ratchet, Clank, Sasha and the soldiers.

Ratchet sighed as he completed Helga's training course, beating his best time again. The Lombax looked at the overweight trainer. "Helga, I think you should make the training course a little more challenging." Ratchet told her.

"Vell, excuuuuuse me, but you are ze only one to actually BEAT ze course, lardball!" Helga retaliated. "No vone else can even make it half-vay!"

"Meh. I guess you're right." Ratchet shrugged. "See ya around, Helga."

Ratchet left the training room and walked down a hallway, into the entertainment room. Inside, he saw Al playing a vid-coming. Skrunch and Clank were sitting on the couch next to him, although the latter was reading a book.

"How's it going, guys?" Ratchet asked.

"Not bad considering nothing's happened these past few months." Clank replied, not looking up from his book.

"Yeah." Ratchet said, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm glad that we haven't run into any more trouble, but part of me wishes that something happens to bring us all out of this bored state." He then looked at Al. "How'd your reunion go, Al?"

The furry creature paused his game and looked at Ratchet. "It was real good. I haven't seen either my brother or my sister in years."

"Then I guess you're lucky that Clank and I ran into them both during the whole Drek fiasco." Ratchet chuckled.

Al nodded. "That's for sure. If you hadn't told me where they were, I wouldn't have been able to make contact with either of them." He turned to the robot sitting on the couch. "You know, Clank? Edwina misses you."

"I'm sure she does." Ratchet replied with a smirk, rolling his eyes at the same time.

"Well, the three of us are going to stay in touch now that we know where the others are." Al said as he returned to his game.

"That's good." Ratchet nodded. "In fact, I think that-"

"Attention!" Sasha's voice blared through the speakers on the wall. "Ratchet, we need you on the bridge!"

Another thing that happened since Ratchet and Clank defeated Dr. Nefarious was that Ratchet hooked up with Sasha, the Phoenix's captain. Luckily, Sasha's father approved after seeing that Ratchet had proven himself worthy.

Bidding farewell to the others, Ratchet jogged out of the entertainment room, down the main hallway and stepped on the platform to take him to the bridge. A few seconds later and the door on the other side of the platform tunnel opened, granting Ratchet access to the bridge. Stepping onto the bridge, he saw Sasha on the lower level with Skidd, whom was sitting at his usual seat.

"You called me, Sasha?" Ratchet asked.

Sasha turned to Ratchet and nodded. "Yes. Skidd just picked up an SOS signal." She sighed. "It's one of my father's cargo ships. It's transporting precious cargo and it's under attack."

"No problem." Ratchet said. "Where's this attack taking place and how many bogeys are we talking about, here?"

Skidd typed a few more things on his keyboard. "The cargo ship was passing over Grelbin in the Bogon Galaxy when it got ambushed, man. I'm not sure how many ships there are, but I think it's about thirty."

Ratchet stroked his chin. "Grelbin? Why does that name sound familiar?"

"My father can't afford to lose this cargo, Ratchet. Luckily, the heavy armour on the ship should hold up until you get there." Sasha explained. "I need you guys to go there and stop the attack."

"Sure thing, Sasha. I'll-" What Sasha just said suddenly sunk into the furry Lombax. "'Guys'? Someone's going with me?"

Sasha nodded. "Yes. Skidd volunteered to go with you."

Ratchet did a double take. "What! Skidd! But…He could get killed out there!" He stated, waving his arms in the air.

"Not so, Ratchet. Skidd's been improving his flying skills lately." Sasha explained. "He's almost as good a pilot as you are, now."

"Well…I just don't want to see any of my friends get killed." Ratchet said.

"Hey, man. You saved me from spending an eternity as a robot. This is the least I could do to repay you, dude." Skidd insisted with a nervous chuckle.

Ratchet sighed. "Well, okay. Let's go then, Skidd."

The Rilgarian nodded, stood up and started walking out of the bridge with Ratchet. They would have made it all the way out if Sasha hadn't stepped in.

"Ratchet, wait."

Ratchet turned around to look at his girlfriend. "Yeah, Sasha?"

Sasha quickly gave her boyfriend a kiss. "Be careful out there, okay?"

"Hey, don't worry." Ratchet said with a smile. "Skidd and I will save your father's ship, taking down all of the baddies and be back here before you know it."

Sasha nodded and backed away. "Good luck, guys."

Ratchet and Skidd bid farewell and stepped onto the platform. In a flash, the two were zooming away from the bridge and flying down the tunnel towards the main area of the ship. During the trek to their ships, Ratchet looked up at his tall friend.

"Keep in mind that this isn't the simulator, Skidd." Ratchet reminded. "This is your first time on a real space mission and it's twice as hard as a ground mission. You up for it?"

Skidd gave a nervous smile. "Hey, man. I gotta start sometime. I figure it's probably good to start on a mission with one of the best."

Ratchet chuckled. "Just be careful, Skidd."

Soon, the pair had arrived in the docking bay, where they saw two identical jet fighters sitting side by side, ready for takeoff. The two friends each chose a ship and climbed into the cockpits of the two fighters.

Once sitting down, Ratchet pressed a few buttons on a panel, closing the hatch over his head. Looking to his left, he saw Skidd doing the same. The Rilgarian surfer flashed a smile and a thumb's up as the glass dome closed over him. Ratchet returned the gesture.

The engines of the two ships quickly started, lifting the two fighters off the ground. As a few nearby soldiers waved to them, Ratchet and Skidd took off, zooming into the void of space at top speed.

**(Bogon Galaxy)**

Ratchet jerked forward slightly as his ship came out of warp drive. Looking ahead, he saw that the coordinates led him right to the battlefield. A good ways ahead was a huge cargo ship, several fighters swarming around it.

Looking to his left again, Ratchet saw Skidd's ship coming out of warp drive, appearing right beside him.

"You ready Skidd? This is it." Ratchet said.

Skidd took a deep breath and gripped the controls of his fighter. "Bring 'em on, dude!"

"You read my mind, pal!" Ratchet looked ahead, narrowing his eyes. "Let 'em have it!"

After flying into the battlefield, the two friends started firing laser bolts at the swarm of enemy ships, hoping to take their attention off of the cargo ship.

When the enemy leader saw a barrage of laser suddenly destroy three of his ships, he turned and saw two ships coming in. "We've got company, boys! Let's get them!"

"Well, they know we're here, Skidd." Ratchet said. "There's no backing out now."

"I know, man. Let's do this!" Skdid pumped a fist into the air.

The two sides flew at each other. On one side, almost thirty fighters flew, each one firing laser shots. On the other side were Ratchet and Skidd, both of them firing shots of their own, while avoiding the fire from the other side at the same time.

By the time the two teams closed in, Ratchet and Skidd had already downed four more fighters. The two friends flew into the wave of fighters, rapidly firing shots as they avoided collision with other ships.

Skidd exited the pack of fighters and out into the open space again. A few enemies saw this and chased after him, starting to fire upon the Navalian's fighter. Skidd noticed this and quickly pulled off a loop, flying over the enemy ships. Once he leveled himself, Skid was now chasing the enemy ships, all three of which were downed quickly.

Ratchet saw Skidd's show and nodded, impressed. "Looks like Sasha wasn't joking when she said he was improving." He said to himself as he blasted another enemy to bits.

The Lombax suddenly noticed a larger enemy ship fly past him. Once it was in front, the enemy started bombarding Ratchet with laser. Ratchet rolled his ship to the side, making the larger ship destroy any enemy ship tailing Ratchet (which were three or four). The Lombax completed his roll and instantly started shooting at the enemy ship. It took a few more shots than usual, but Ratchet managed to down the ship as well.

Ratchet noticed that his shield had taken a bit of damage during that run. He realized that he'd have to be more careful.

Skidd had taken a bit more damage than Ratchet had, but was still managing to hold his ground. He had already managed to down nine fighters and was working on his tenth. The Rilgarian suddenly noticed some more enemies flying behind him, taking more bites out of his shield. Skidd quickly downed the fighter he was chasing and flew towards an asteroid, picking up speed rapidly. The enemy ships followed, also speeding up. Skidd waited until he was close enough to the asteroid, then pulled up, flying to safety. The enemy ships didn't have good enough reflexes and crashed into the asteroid.

The Rilgarian looked around and saw that, by now, most of the enemy fighters had been wiped out. He flew towards Ratchet as the Lombax was fighting the last three ships.

The three remaining ships decided to take on Ratchet from different sides. As one flew straight at Ratchet's ship, the other two flew in from either side. Strangely enough, Ratchet wasn't firing.

"Man. These guys keep getting dumber and dumber." Ratchet chuckled. "Going down!"

With that, Ratchet veered down, out of harm's way, leaving all three ships to slam into each other, exploding on impact.

Once the three ships were destroyed, Ratchet looked around to see if there were any more left. After a few seconds, Ratchet was satisfied that there weren't any more.

"Hey, Ratchet! We did it!"

Ratchet smiled at the voice coming from the speakers. Skidd's ship flew into view.

"You were awesome, man!" Skidd said. "Great job!"

"You weren't too bad, yourself, Skidd." Ratchet said. "You're definitely improving."

"Thanks, man."

"Well, I'll just report back to Sasha and then we'll head back."

Suddenly, before either of the friends had time to react, three laser bolts shot from nowhere and slammed into the side of Skidd's ship, blowing off one of the wings.

Now, it was bad enough that this attack took both Ratchet and Skidd by surprise, but what was worse was now that his wing was gone, Skidd couldn't control his ship. The Rilgarian tried to regain control, but could do nothing as he spiraled down towards the cold planet below.

"SKIDD!" Ratchet screamed.

"Ratchet!" Skidd's frantic voice blared through Ratchet's speakers as his ship got smaller and smaller. "I can't keep control, man! I'm losing it! I'm going down! Ratchet, I'm-"

That was all Ratchet heard before Skidd's voice was cut off. The only thing Ratchet heard was static.

"Skidd!" Ratchet called. "Skidd, come in! Do you read me!"

Alas, the only thing Ratchet heard was static. Skidd wasn't responding, and that meant that his ship had crashed. And if it had crashed, then that meant one thing.

Skidd was dead.

Ratchet looked in the direction the lasers had come from and saw one enemy ship, the leader's, floating in space.

The leader chuckled. "Well, lookie what happened. I was aiming for you and that punk decided to fly in my line of sight when I fired."

A low growl escaped Ratchet's throat, his gaze piercing through the leader's ship with hatred. Without warning, Ratchet flew at the ship at top speed.

"I unfortunately am out of ammo, so I can't take you out just yet. Looks like I need to retreat for now." The leader said as he turned his ship around and flew off at warp speed, escaping Ratchet's wrath.

Ratchet slowed his ship to a halt and paused as everything that had just happened sunk in. Skidd had unknowingly saved Ratchet's life, and had paid for it with his own life. Ratchet fell back against his seat as tears started coming to his eyes. He would've sat there and cried the rest of the night if a message hadn't come through his speaker.

"Ratchet, this is Sasha!" The female voice said. "How's the mission going?"

Ratchet looked at the speaker and sighed. "Three things, Sasha." He said, his voice sounding like it was cracking. "Your father's cargo ship is safe, the leader of the attacking forces got away and…" Ratchet bit his lip in hesitation before finishing his sentence. "…We've got a man down."

"What? You mean that…Oh, no…" Sasha said as she realized what Ratchet meant. "W-What happened?"

"The leader was aiming for me, but Skidd unknowingly flew in the way. He lost a wing and tumbled down to the planet. His ship crashed." Ratchet explained, looking down.

For a few seconds, Ratchet couldn't hear anything. He guessed that Sasha was trying to regain her composure before continuing. "R-Ratchet, return to the Phoenix…" She said in a voice barely above a whisper.

Ratchet nodded. "Okay." He said simply before turning off the speaker and sending his ship into warp drive.

On his way back to the Phoenix, Ratchet set his plane to automatic pilot. After everything that just happened, Ratchet didn't have the desire to pilot anything.

**(Grelbin)**

On the cold surface of Grelbin, Skidd slowly started to regain his senses, but only barely. The last thing he remembered was opening the hatch before crashing. He would've guessed that when the ship crashed, the Rilgarian had been thrown clear of the wreckage.

Skid propped himself onto his elbows and dizzily looked around, his vision blurred. Although he couldn't see clearly, he saw that he was in some sort of barren snow valley. He suddenly felt a little weaker, as if his remaining strength was diminishing.

The Rilgarian looked up and saw a furry face staring down at him with concern. Skidd's vision was already blackening, but he could tell that this figure was a Lombax.

"…R-R-Ratchet?…" Was all Skidd could manage before collapsing onto his stomach, unconscious again.

The Lombax that stood over the fallen surfer wasn't Ratchet, though. In fact, the Lombax wasn't even a guy. The girl, whom was closer to Skidd's height than Ratchet's, quickly felt Skidd for a pulse.

"He's still alive." The girl sighed in relief when she found a pulse. "I need to get him some shelter."

The female Lombax picked up Skidd and draped an arm over her shoulder, helping him walk back to a small building at the edge of the snow field.


	2. Angela

Chapter two: Angela

**(Grelbin)**

Skidd groaned as he rocked his head back and forth. The first thing he noticed was that he was no longer in a barren wasteland of snow, but rather inside a small house, laying on a bed. Propping himself onto his right hand, Skidd felt his head and tried to regain his senses.

"Man. Did anyone get the license number of that truck, dude?" Skidd asked aloud.

"I see you're awake."

Skidd spun his head around to look in the direction of the new voice and saw a new figure walking over. The newcomer was a tall, female lombax with a ponytail, wearing a green top and pants.

"Who're you, dudette?" Skidd asked. "And where am I?"

"You're in my home." The lombax replied. "I saw your ship crash and brought you here before you froze to death. I find it a miracle that you even survived the crash in the first place."

"Well, thanks for saving me, dude." Skidd replied. "You're probably right in saying that I would've like, frozen to death if you hadn't come along."

"Hey, don't think anything of it." The lombax insisted, giving a light chuckle. She sighed. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't save anything from your ship."

It was Skidd's turn to sigh. "Don't worry, dudette. That just means that I can't contact my friends and tell them I'm okay."

"Well, we'll think of something to contact them." The girl replied. "In the meantime, you can stay here as long as you need."

"Thanks, man." Skidd said before pausing. "Wait. If we're going to be staying together for a while, me may as well, you know, get acquainted and stuff."

The girl gave out another chuckle. "Sure. I'm Angela."

"Nice to meet you, Angela. I'm Skidd." Skidd paused before scooting over on the bed, making room. "Come on, man. Sit down. I don't like, feel too good about letting you stand there, you know."

"Oh, that's fine. I'm perfectly okay." Angela said.

"I insist, Angela. Sit down."

Angela finally related and sat down on the edge of the bed, beside Skidd.

"Say. Before you passed out earlier, you mistook me for someone named 'Ratchet'." Angela said. "You wouldn't happen to be referring to Ratchet the lombax, would you?"

"I sure am, man!" Skidd laughed. "The galaxies owe that dude so much, and yet he doesn't accept anything in return."

"Tell me about it." Angela chuckled. "So I take it that means you know him?"

"Yeah. He and I, we're like buds, man! I was helping him on a mission to take out some baddies when I was brought down." Skidd turned to Angela again. "You know him as well?"

Angela nodded. "Yes. He saved this galaxy, as well as helped me find my employer, Mr. Fizzwidget."

Skidd's eyes snapped open. "Wait. You're THAT Angela!"

"What do you mean 'THAT' Angela?" Angela asked.

"Ratchet talks about you all the time, man! He even says he thought you liked him a little."

Angela blushed in embarrassment. "Okay, I'll admit it. When he defeated the Protopet, I had a tiny crush on him."

"Well, I hate to break it to you, Angela, but Ratchet's hooked up with a girl now."

Angela shrugged. "That's okay. I'm real glad for him." She didn't show it, but Skidd could tell that she was slightly disappointed. "So, what is Ratchet up to these days? Still saving the galaxy, I take it."

"You'd be right, dude." Skidd replied. "He, Clank, and few others and myself make up a strike force that like, totally saves planets from danger." Another silence followed from the Rilgar native. "Well, to be totally honest, it's been pretty boring these past few months."

Angela chuckled again. "I guess no super-powerful villain wants to take you out."

Skidd laughed. "Yeah, man. Drek blew up with his homemade planet and Dr. Nefarious is still floating around in space somewhere. Bad guys are probably afraid of Ratchet by now."

"And the Protopets are now completely harmless." Angela added. "They're one of Megacorp's best sellers now that they're not ravenous monsters."

"How about you?" Skidd asked. "Ratchet says that you helped him save the galaxy. You popular in these parts?"

"Well, not in the whole galaxy." Angela admitted. "Just at Megacorp. Mr. Fizzwidget gave me a raise, so I can't complain."

"That's always good."

An uncomfortable silence hung in the air until Angela broke it. "You hungry, Skidd? I can make something for you if you want."

Skidd smacked his lips a couple of times. "I'm not really hungry, man. But I AM a little thirty."

"Sure thing." Angela said as she got up and walked over to her fridge. "What would you like?"

"Whatever you've got is fine, man."

Angela nodded, pulled a can of soda from the fridge and tosse dit to Skidd, who caught it with one hand. "Thanks, Angela." Skidd said as he opened the can.

Angela was about to grab a drink herself when she heard a beeping noise coming from her table. She turned around and saw a red light on a device flashing.

"What is it, Angela?" Skidd asked as he stood up.

"I'm getting a call. Just give me a second." Angela said as she pressed a button on the device, a videophone.

As soon as the button was pressed, the image of a portly old man appeared on the table.

"Oh! Hey, sir!" Angela greeted. "How're things going at the factory?"

"Wonderful, Angela. However, that's not my reason for calling." Mr. Fizzwidget's image replied. "Our radar picked up a ship coming down into your orbit. I suggest you remain on the lookout."

"Way ahead of you, Mr. Fizzwidget." Angela replied with a smile. "I've already brought the pilot of the ship here. And get this, sir! He's a friend of Ratchet!"

Mr. Fizzwidget did a double-take. "Ratchet! Well then, by-golly, you help him recover, Angela. It seems like you have everything under control."

"Thank you for letting me know anyway, sir." Angela nodded. "I appreciate it."

"No problem, Angela. Fizzwidget out."

With that, the image vanished, leaving Skidd and Angela alone again.

"So that was Mr. Fizzwidget." Skidd chuckled. "I somehow imagine him to be a little different, man."

"It's kinda weird." Angela mused rubbing her chin.

"What is it, Angela?" Skidd asked, walking over to his new friend.

"Fizzwidget said that the radar picked up your ship coming into orbit, but if that's the case, the radar is seriously delayed." Angela explained. "You've been here for hours already."

"Hey, yeah. That IS pretty weird, man."

"Well, I guess it was just a delay." Angela shrugged. "Hey, Skidd? You want me to give you a tour of the place?"

"Sure. Might as well, dude." Skidd replied.

"Okay. Let's go, then." Angela smiled as she walked over to the door.

"Lead the way, Angela." Skidd replied as he followed Angela out the door. _"Man. She's got such a beautiful smile."_ He thought.

**(Phoenix)**

Ratchet sat in his room on the Phoenix, his back against the wall. He absent-mindedly tossed a ball against the far wall, which bounced back into his hand. As Ratchet kept doing this, he wasn't really paying attention. He was more focused on the events that still lingered in his mind.

The furry lombax just couldn't shake the feelings of sorrow, guilt and anger that hung over him. One moment, Skidd was downing enemy fighters with enough skill to make anyone jealous, and the next he was tumbling down to the planet below in a ball of fire.

Ratchet was upset considering that he never gave Skidd enough chance to prove himself. Skidd had spent the majority of the Dr. Nefarious fiasco running from danger, and Ratchet had been a little hesitant letting him come along on this mission. But during the dogfight above Grelbin, Skidd had impressed his furry friend and Ratchet never had the chance to tell the Rilgar native how impressed he really was.

And then there was the feeling of guilt. It was supposed to have been him tumbling towards Grelbin in a burning ball of fire. But Skidd had chosen the wrong time to fly in the path of the shots. Skidd had saved Ratchet's life and he didn't even know it. Ratchet felt like he had let Skidd down for not protecting him and felt like he had let himself down for not looking hard enough for any surviving ships. If he had looked hard enough, maybe he would have spotted the leader's ship and prevented him from firing the shot.

Finally, there was the feeling of anger. His hatred was focused on the leader behind the attack. Whoever this guy was, he had downed Skidd. In doing that and killing one of Ratchet's friends, he had awakened a lombax's fury. Ratchet swore to himself that he would make whoever was responsible for this pay, and pay dearly.

As Ratchet continued to toss the ball against the wall, he heard the door to his room swish open. The light, metallic footsteps told Ratchet who it was, but he remained silent.

"Ratchet, please calm down." Clank said with concern.

Ratchet narrowed his eyes and continued to toss the ball against the wall. "Calm down? Calm down! Skidd's dead, the person responsible got away and it's all my fault, and you expect me to calm down!"

"No, seriously. Calm down. That is a Mini-Nuke you are tossing at the wall."

Ratchet stopped tossing the ball and looked at it. When he saw that Clank was right, and it the ball was really a Mini-Nuke, he quickly put it away. "Sorry."

"You should not beat yourself up about this, Ratchet." Clank said, walking over to his friend. "It was not your fault."

"Yes, it was." Ratchet sighed. "I could've done so much more to help. I could have looked harder for the leader's ship, or made sure it was the first I shot down. Instead, I didn't look as hard as I could have, and because of that, Skidd's dead."

Clank placed his robotic hands on his hips. "Ratchet, for your information, you are not the only one feeling guilty, you know."

"Oh?"

"Yes. In case you forgot, Sasha was the one to suggest Skidd go with you in the first place."

Realization suddenly hit Ratchet again. He had been so wrapped up in his own guilt that he never thought about Sasha and what she could have been going through. She must have been feeling just as bad, if not worse, than Ratchet. The lombax quickly stood up.

"I should go comfort her, then." Ratchet sighed. "Where is she?"

"In her room." Clank explained. "She has been in there ever since she told everyone the news."

Ratchet nodded. "Okay. I'll go see what I can do."

With that, Ratchet and Clank left the room and started walking down the long hallway to find Sasha's room. Before the two got very far, a robotic soldier stepped over to them, his hands behind his back.

"Sir." The robot addressed Ratchet. "We soldiers may not be capable of expressing sorrow, but we are extremely upset at Skidd's death. We know that you're feeling bad about that happening, so we all chipped in and got you something."

The soldier moved his hands around him and held out the gift to Ratchet. Ratchet's eyes sprang open when he saw the small, round body, big wide eyes and bright blue fur of the creature the soldier was holding.

The small Protopet looked at Ratchet with its adorable eyes. In the meantime, Ratchet's left eye started twitching.

Suddenly, Ratchet flew past the soldier, screaming like a little girl, torpedoing down the hall at breakneck speeds.

The soldier curiously looked at the Protopet in his hands. "What's wrong? It looks okay to me."

Clank sighed. "Corporal, we need to talk."


	3. The Spark

Chapter three: The Spark

**(Phoenix)**

Ratchet took a deep breath before he knocked on the door to Sasha's room. After hearing from Clank that Sasha felt just as guilty as he did, Ratchet had decided to go see if he could cheer her up. After a few seconds, Ratchet heard a reply.

"Who is it?" A quiet voice asked from the other side of the door.

"It's Ratchet, Sasha." Ratchet replied. "Can I come in?"

A few seconds more and the door swooshed open, granting the lombax access to the room. Inside, he quickly saw Sasha sitting on her bed, looking depressed. She had stopped crying, but her eyes were still puffy and red, showing that she had stopped not long ago.

"You feeling okay, Sasha?" Ratchet asked, walking over.

His girlfriend sighed. "No. I feel like this whole thing has been my fault. I was the one that said Skidd could go with you."

"No way, Sasha. You didn't know this would happen. And let's face it. If Skidd DIDN'T go with me, I'd be dead by now." Ratchet said.

"Yeah. I suppose you're right." Sasha said. "I just can't help but feel guilty that Skidd's gone."

"Hey, you're not the only one, Sasha." Ratchet stated. "I was out there with him when he went down."

Sasha nodded. "I know, Ratchet. I can't even imagine what you must be going through."

"And believe me, you don't want to know."

A few seconds of uncomfortable silence passed before Sasha broke the ice again. "Well, the upside is that Al thinks he can figure out who was responsible for this."

Ratchet's ears perked up. "Really?"

Sasha nodded. "It may take a little while, but yes. Your helmet had a camera built into it, and when you looked at the leader's ship in space, we got a direct shot of whoever he was. A little work on it and Al says he can analyze the picture to find the leader's identity."

Ratchet, for the first time since Skidd's death, smiled. "Great. That means we can avenge Skidd earlier that I thought we could."

Sasha sighed. "His loss is tough to bear, but because of him, you're still here. And that means that we have the ability to take down the scum responsible."

**(Grelbin)**

During the tour Angela was giving him, Skidd had gotten to know her more. The two had talked together during the tour, each of them finding out more and more about the other as time went on.

As Angela led him through the power plant near her house, Skidd looked around in awe. "Man! This plant is like, huge!" He looked at his guide. "And you say that the place is abandoned now, Angela?"

Angela nodded. "It's been abandoned ever since I started living on this planet, so I'm not too sure as to what the plant was used for. Nowadays, I use the place as my own personal gym."

"Yeah, man. I guess you DO have the place to yourself." Skidd said.

"And look at this." Angela said as she walked over to the edge of the hallway the two were walking down.

Skidd looked over the edge and saw that there was still a part of the plant that they hadn't gone yet. However, the entire area up to where they were standing had been filled with water.

"Wow, man! The place is like, totally flooded!" Skidd said.

Again, Angela nodded. "Yep. The last time Ratchet was here, he had to make a run through the plant to get to my place, and to do that, he had to flood the lower floor. However, this turned that corridor into the perfect swimming course for me. I've mastered that hallway several times now."

Skidd, hearing this, smirked. "You up for a challenge, then?"

Angela looked at him and smirked back. "You can swim?"

"For sure, man. I'm like, the frogman of the team." Skidd said confidently. He dare not tell Angela that, during his last water-based mission with Ratchet, he was too afraid to get in the water.

Angela chuckled. "Okay. We'll make it a race. Let's see who can get to the other side of the course over there." She said, pointing over a half-wall, where the other side was clearly flooded to the same height. This also gave Skidd an idea of how the course went.

As Angela jumped into the water, Skidd stared off into space. "_Dude. Even her chuckle is cute._" He thought. "_She's so awesome. I don't get why Ratchet didn't hook up with her._"

"Hey, Skidd! You coming?" Angela called out from the pool.

"Huh? Oh. Yeah, man." Skidd jumped into the water. "Ready, Angela?"

"Whenever you are, Skidd." Angela said.

"Okay…Ready…Set…" Skidd said. "Go!"

With that, both Skidd and Angela dove under the surface of the water and started swimming through the course.

It took a little bit to get used to swimming again, but when he did, Skidd was able to do so with ease. Skidd torpedoed through the course with Angela right beside him.

The first thing Skidd noticed was that the course was mainly one long hallway with a few open doorways to swim through. The course was pretty simple and would probably take someone about half a minute to get through.

The two were neck-in-neck for most of the course before Angela started to pull ahead. During the final leg of the course, Angela showed her skill in swimming and arrived at the other end of the course just ahead of Skidd. After the race, the two poked their heads above the surface of the water.

"Man, Angela! You're a serious swimmer!" Were Skidd's first words when he came out of the water.

"Thanks, Skidd." Angela said. "I've had a lot of practice."

The two paddled over to the edge of the water and quickly climbed out, laughing at the race they had just done.

"You know what?" Angela said as she wiped her face off, drying it as best as she could. "You're a great swimmer yourself. With all of the practice I've had, I never would have expected someone to STILL manage to keep up with me."

"Hey. I'm not just a champion hoverboarder on Rilgar, Angela." Skidd replied. "I also like, swim every chance I get to keep my maneuverability up."

"Well, let's see what else we can find in the plant here." Angela said. "I'm sure there's something else you haven't seen."

The tour eventually ended when Skidd and Angela arrived back at her place. The two entered the small house and sat down on a couch.

"Hey, Angela?" Skidd said. "Like, thanks for showing me around."

"No problem, Skidd." Angela replied. "I really enjoy your company."

"Why's that, man?" Skidd asked curiously.

"Well, to be honest, Ratchet and I never really hung out with each other during or even after the Protopet adventure. And when we did, I never really realized how different we were." Angela explained. "Sure, that didn't mask the fact that I still had a crush on him, but the point was given to me. Despite the fact that we're the same species, we were two completely different beings."

"Man. That's gotta be rough."

"But that's not all. The first half of that whole adventure, Ratchet and I fought against each other as enemies. It wasn't until I revealed myself that we worked together." Angela sighed. "And when we worked together, I was hardly given time to show my skills due to the fact that we were almost never together."

"I know how you feel, Angela." Skidd said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "This past adventure, I like, spent the majority of it as a complete coward. I had only like, just begun to show my piloting skills when I was brought down."

"Thanks, Skidd."

"No prob."

"Well, to bring it all up to date, you crash-land here. And after getting to know you, I realize that we're actually a lot alike."

"Hey, yeah. I never thought about that, man."

"That's why I enjoy your company, Skidd. And I must admit that even though I haven't know you for very long, you're a lot more fun to hang around with."

Skidd did a double-take. "Huh! No way, man! There's no way I could be better at something than Ratchet!"

Angela let out another chuckle. "You'd be surprised. Ratchet was always so determined to finish the mission. After the adventure was over, sure, he got to kick back and have some fun, but it didn't last long. He had to go back to his home galaxy before too long, and I never really got the chance to get to know him." She looked Skidd square in the eye and smiled. "You, on the other hand, have shown me more about yourself during the past day than Ratchet did in the whole adventure."

Skidd blushed. "Hey, if I was annoying you…"

"No, no, no. That's not it at all." Angela insisted. "You also got to know me a lot more than Ratchet did. I never thought I'd say this to anyone, but I feel a lot more secure when I'm in your company, Skidd. It was almost as if we were destined to meet."

"Heh. Maybe so, man."

The two talked for a couple more hours, and during that time, Skidd felt more and more attracted to the female lombax sitting with him. As the time went on, Skidd felt more and more confused as to why Ratchet left this girl behind, yet more and more confident that he was growing feelings for Angela.

Skidd hadn't known Angela for very long, but he now knew more about her that Ratchet ever did. He stared into Angela's eyes, almost as if he was in a trance. Angela noticed this.

"What is it, Skidd?" Angela asked.

"I'm…Not sure, Angela." Skidd said, not really wanting to tell her just yet. "It's nothing, I guess."

Angela shrugged. "Okay." She looked at the clock on her wall. "It's getting pretty late, Skidd. I think we should get to sleep."

Neither of the two knew this, but not too far away, standing in the snow-covered wasteland, was a lone figure. His eyes gazed upon Angela's house as he smirked. He loaded a Plasma Cannon and smirked.

At the same time, his two bright, red eyes gazed through the falling snow.


	4. Missions

Chapter four: Missions

**(Phoenix)**

The door to Ratchet's room opened, allowing the lombax to go in. Ratchet had spent a good while trying to comfort Sasha, and once he had felt like she had calmed down enough, he had come back to his room to sit down.

The first thing Ratchet noticed was that his new protopet laying on the bed, asleep. However, once Ratchet entered the room, the adorable ball of fuzz woke up. Once he saw Ratchet, the protopet perked up and jumped to his feet and excitedly jumped on the bed.

Ratchet chuckled and sat down on the bed. "I have to admit. When you're not a homicidal maniac, you're pretty cute." He rubbed the protopet on the head. "Well, if you're gonna be my pet, you'll need a name." It didn't take too long for him to come up with one. "How about 'Skidder'? Is that okay, little guy?"

The protopet, now called 'Skidder', in memory of Skidd, cooed in agreement as he nuzzled against Ratchet's hand.

"Then it's settled." Ratchet said. "I hope you enjoy your stay, Skidder. But if Al can figure out what I want to know, I'll be gone for a while. I may have to have Clank look after you."

Skidder looked at Ratchet with a confused expression.

Ratchet sighed. "It's too complicated to say, Skidder. You probably wouldn't understand it, anyway. The only thing is that-"

"Ratchet! This is Al! I think I've found out who's behind this! Come to the bridge, quick!" A voice shouted through the speakers, interrupting Ratchet's talk.

Hearing the announcement, Ratchet's eyes sprang open. He leapt off the bed and raced out the door, but not before he allowed Skidder to climb onto his shoulder. The lombax quickly raced into the main hallway of the Phoenix and ran towards the platform tunnel leading to the bridge.

**(Grelbin)**

The tall, red-eyed figure trudged through the snow, his large weapon in his right hand. His target: Angela's house, where two unknowing new friends sat.

Suddenly, a wild snow monster lunged in from the side, preparing to attack. The figure quickly aimed his Plasma Cannon at the monster and pulled the trigger, killing it instantly. The snow monster collapsed to the ground and the figure continued on towards Angela's house.

"_She has no idea._' The figure thought"

**(Phoenix)**

Ratchet ran onto the bridge and quickly spotted Al on the lower level. The lombax, forgetting that Skidder was perched on his shoulder, leapt over the railing overlooking the rest of the bridge. Skidder flew off Ratchet's shoulder, did about three spins in the air and fell straight into Ratchet's hands when the lombax landed on the floor.

"Whoops! Sorry, Skidder." Ratchet apologized as he placed the blue protopet back on his shoulder and ran over to Al. "What's up, Al?"

"I'm getting close to cleaning up this picture of the leader's ship after the space battle, Ratchet." Al explained. "I figured you'd want to be the first to find out."

Ratchet nodded. "I appreciate it, Al." He couldn't see the picture Al was working on, as the screen was just big enough for only Al, whom was sitting right in front of it, to see. "So can you see who that ship belongs to, yet?"

"Just a sec, Ratchet." Al said, focusing on the screen. "It's coming in…"

**(Grelbin)**

"I have a guest room just through that door over there, Skidd." Angela pointed to a door on the right wall. "I hope the bed in there is okay for you."

Skidd smiled. "Hey. Anything works for me, Angela." He stood up. "Like, thanks again for everything you've done."

"Hey. I'm always glad to help, Skidd." Angela insisted. "Good night."

"G'night."

With that, Skidd walked into the guest room and shut the door behind him. Angela smiled as she stood up and walked over to the door leading to her room.

However, before she got very far, there was a knock at the door. Angela turned to the door with a raised eyebrow, walked over and curiously opened it. However, once she saw whom was at the door, she jumped back in horror.

"Heya, toots. Remember me?"

"It's YOU!" Angela shrieked.

**(Phoenix)**

"It's a Thugs-4-Less ship, Ratchet!"

"WHAT!"

**(Grelbin)**

Angela stepped back in shock as the Thugs-4-Less leader walked into the house. If there was one person that hated Ratchet more than anyone else in the galaxy, it was this guy. Ratchet had humiliated him several times during the protopet adventure, but none of them were worse than their final encounter. The Thug leader had gotten into a huge robot and tried to crush Ratchet, but the lombax had still gotten the better of him with only a few gun turrets.

Ever since then, the Thug leader had always held a grudge against the lombax, but couldn't manage to find him. That is, until the dogfight he and his men had against Ratchet and Skidd.

Meanwhile, Skidd was still in the guest room. He had heard Angela's outcry and quickly looked through a crack in the door to see what was going on. His eyes widened when he saw the Thug leader standing at the doorstep.

"_That explains why those ships were after that cargo ship._" Skidd thought, not wanting to let the Thug leader know about his presence. "_They were paid to attack!_"

"What are you doing here, buster!" Angela said angrily, regaining her composure. "How did you find me!"

"We've known that youse been hiding here, toots. We just didn't do anything about it cause you weren't a threat." The Thug leader replied, earning a dirty look from Angela.

"You didn't answer my first question. What are you doing here?"

The Thug leader smirked. "Ya see, yer friend Ratchet took out my men a while ago and ruined a perfectly good contract with our client. He was willing to pay us big bolts if we took out a cargo ship. That furry freak showed up and defeated us all." Angela raised an eyebrow as the Thug continued. "Now, my men and I wanna get back at that moron, but we dunno where he's hidin right now."

"Then what are you doing here?" Angela asked, feeling a little uneasy.

The Thug looked down at her and smirked evilly. "That's where YOUSE come in, toots."

"WHAT!" Angela jumped back. "Why do you need ME to get to Ratchet! We haven't even SEEN each other since the protopet incident!"

"Well, if that furry moron found out we were holdin one of his friends at our new HQ, he'd come out of hidin and rush to your rescue." The Thug replied.

"Wait, your NEW Headquarters?" Angela asked, hoping that Skidd was listening in on the conversation. "What happened to the old one?"

**(Phoenix)**

"Apparently, after you trounced everyone at the old HQ on Snivelak, they had to relocate." Al explained.

"That's understandable." Ratchet nodded. "Once an outsider found out where they were, they figured they weren't safe there."

"Exactly."

"So where's the new HQ?"

**(Grelbin)**

"I figure I can tell youse since I'm takin ya there anyway." The Thug leader, totally unaware of Skidd's presence, continued. "Our new base is on the planet Damosel."

**(Phoenix)**

"DAMOSEL!" Ratchet asked. "That's one of the highest-populated planets is that galaxy! What are those morons THINKING!"

**(Grelbin)**

"I was hoping you'd ask that, toots." The Thug leader smirked. "Ya see, our HQ is disguised as a normal business, dressed up like all the other big buildings on the planet. No one suspects a thing!"

"Well, forget it!" Angela snapped. "I refuse to be used as bait!"

"I'm afraid youse got no say in the matter." The Thug leader narrowed his eyes and reached out.

Angela realized all too late that she had been backed into a corner. The Thug picked her up by the shirt she was wearing and held her out of striking range.

"Now, if youse don't mind, youse gonna be hitchin' a ride in my ship now." The Thug leader continued. "Let's go. I'm double-parked."

With Angela struggling to break free of his grip, the Thug leader turned around and left the house, shutting the door behind him.

As soon as the door was shut, the door to the guest room opened and Skidd sprang out. He looked around for a few seconds.

"I need to save Angela, man!" He said. He paused for a few seconds. "I'm like, gonna need some weapons, though."

Skidd looked around Angela's house and eventually found a cache of firearms hidden in a trunk. Skidd eventually chose a Heavy Bouncer, a Megarocket Cannon and a Heavy Lancer.

The Rilgar native gulped. He was actually going to willingly charge headfirst into battle without knowing the power of the opposition. If the stakes were any lower, he probably would have backed down, but the stakes were high to him. Very high. Angela was counting on him, and Skidd didn't want to let her down.

**(Phoenix)**

Ratchet grabbed his Mini-Nuke and Bomb Glove with a determined look on his face. Now that he knew whom was behind Skidd's death, as well as where they were hiding out, Ratchet made his decision almost instantly. He would go to Damosel, find the HQ, utterly destroy it and avenge Skidd.

And, not wanting to risk the lives of anyone else, he would do it alone.

Clank, seeing the look on his friend's face, walked over. "Ratchet, are you sure you do not want me to go with you?"

"I appreciate the offer, Clank, but no." Ratchet said. "I've already lost Skidd to these guys. I don't want to lose anyone else the same way."

"Your concern is touching, Ratchet." Clank said. "However, this is the Thugs-4-Less headquarters you are about to storm. Going in alone would be complete suicide."

"That's a chance I'm willing to take, Clank." Ratchet replied, turning to his metallic friend. "Look, take care of Skidder while I'm gone, okay?"

Clank sighed. "Okay. Have it your way. If you are this set on doing it alone, I will not stop you."

Ratchet nodded. "Thanks, pal. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get on my ship."

**(Grelbin)**

Skidd dared to poke his head out of the door to Angela's house. He looked into the sky and saw the Thug leader take off in his ship. Now that he knew it was safe to come out, Skidd left the house.

"Angela said her ship was around here somewhere, man." Skidd said to himself. "If I can find it, I can go after the Thugs-4-Less."

Luckily, it didn't take Skidd to find what he was looking for. Around the main entrance to the abandoned power plant was a ship, ready for take off. Skidd, knowing that it was Angela's, rushed at it.

**(Phoenix)**

Ratchet jumped into the cockpit of his jet fighter and pressed a few buttons, closing the hatch. Looking out at the rest of the docking bay, he saw the rest of the crew seeing him off. Clank, Al, Helga, Skrunch, Skidder and the robotic rangers were all present at seeing Ratchet take off. The lombax's eyebrow raised when he saw that Sasha was conspicuously absent from the group.

Deciding to ignore that fact, Ratchet lifted his jet off the ground and turned it in place so it was facing the vacuum of space.

"_This one's for you, Skidd._" Ratchet thought as he fired up the engines.

**(Space)**

As the Thugs-4-Less leader flew his ship through space, Angela sat in the backseat. She would have jumped at the leader and taken control of his ship had her arms not been tied to her sides. Now the only thing Angela could do was hope Skidd heard her conversation as was now chasing after her.

Angela sighed as she pressed her head against the window of the ship. '_Skidd, please hurry._' She thought.

Angela's ship, with Skidd at the controls, zoomed out of Grelbin's orbit. The Rilgarian set the galaxy map to point at his destination: The planet Damosel. Skidd flew in the direction of the populated planet, the only thing on his mind being the one he was after.

"_Hold on, Angela. I'm coming._" Skidd thought.

Unknown to either of them, both Ratchet and Skidd departed their locations at the exact same time. Because Ratchet was located in a different galaxy, he would surely arrive at Damosel a good bit after Skidd.

However, even though neither of the separated friends knew it, Ratchet and Skidd said the following words, coincidentally at the exact same time.

"Thugs-4-Less is going to pay!"


	5. Damosel

Chapter five: Damosel

**(Space)**

Eventually, Ratchet had flown into the Bolgon Galaxy. Because he had been there in the past, he knew exactly where to go to get to Damosel. He made a beeline straight at the planet, even though he knew it would still take him a while to get there. Ratchet didn't care though. He knew what he had to do.

Now that the lombax knew that it was Thugs-4-Less behind this, Ratchet had promised himself that he would take down the entire base to find the leader.

Ratchet's gaze softened as he grabbed his Visibomb Gun and sighed. He had firepower, but maybe Clank was right in saying that he would need help. But, of course, Ratchet had to be his usual stubborn self and refuse help. Tossing the gun into the backseat of his ship, he was starting to wish that he had asked someone to help him.

**CONK!**

"OW!"

Ratchet's eyes widened, recognizing the voice. Setting the ship on auto-pilot, Ratchet looked over his shoulder and saw, of all people, Sasha in the backseat. She held the Visibomb in one hand and rubbed her head with the other.

Sasha placed the gun beside her and chuckled. "Took you long enough to look back here, Ratchet. And here I was thinking this wouldn't work."

The lombax's eyes snapped open. "SASHA!" He asked. "What the heck are you doing here!"

Sasha climbed into the front seat and sat down beside Ratchet. "I'm going to help you."

"Oh, no you're not!" Ratchet replied, shaking his head. "You're the LAST person I want to see get hurt! The Thugs-4-Less are ruthless!"

"Ratchet, I want to help you take them down." Sasha said. "I feel that it's just as much my fault as it is yours about Skidd. Helping to take these guys down is the very least I could do, and it would make me feel a lot better at the same time."

"…But, I didn't bring enough weapons for-"

"Way ahead of you, Ratchet." Sasha cut Ratchet off, pulling out a Tesla Claw.

Ratchet sighed, realizing that there wasn't any way out of this. "Okay. But just be careful. I don't want to lose you, too."

"You won't lose me, Ratchet." Sasha replied. "In fact, maybe I'LL be the one to save YOUR neck out there."

Ratchet chuckled. "We'll just have to see about that, huh?"

And so, the ship continued on to Damosel. However, neither of the lovers knew who had already made it there.

**(Damosel)**

The hatch to Angela's ship opened as Skidd jumped out. The Rilgarian looked around for a few seconds. He had lost the Thug leader's ship long ago, so Skidd had no idea where he had taken Angela.

"Well, I guess I'd better get started, man." Skidd sighed as he started walking. "But I need to hurry. Angela's like, counting on me."

Skidd again looked around. "But how could I like, find out where to go? No one would know where the base is, man."

Skidd sighed. From the looks of things, this was going to take him a long time.

Figuring he could have a better chance if he searched from a higher point, Skidd walked over to a taxi pickup and stood still. A floating taxi suddenly floated onto the scene and stopped in front of Skidd. The Rilgar native quickly stepped onto the taxi, which started moving as soon as he was on.

During the ride, Skidd looked out around the city. He remembered overhearing the Thug leader saying that the base had been disguised as a normal business, thus making the search that much more difficult.

"Maybe I can spot it if there are Thugs standing outside, man." Skidd pondered as he grabbed his visor and pulled it over his eyes. Pressing a button on the side of his visor, Skidd zoomed his sight closer to the buildings.

Unfortunately, this search proved just as fruitless as the first. Skidd sighed as he pulled his visor back up above his eyes.

"Man. This'll take me to the end of next week if this keeps up." Skidd complained as the taxi pulled up to a park somewhere else on the planet. The Rilgarian jumped off the taxi and waked away, trying to come up with an easier way to do this.

Skidd sat down on a bench and looked ahead, staring blankly into space, going over his chances. The planet was big, most of it was made of city, and he had no idea where he was going.

"Let's face it, man." Skidd said to himself. "I don't know the first thing I need to do. The way things're going, I'll never find the Thugs-4-Less HQ."

"Excuse us?"

Skidd nearly jumped from the unknown voice. Looking over his shoulder, he saw a black-haired alien walking over, a sock puppet on his left hand.

"We couldn't help but overhear that you're looking for the Thugs-4-Less HQ." The alien pointed out.

"…'We', dude?" Skidd asked.

"Man. You'd think more people would notice me." The sock puppet complained.

"Hey, dude." The ventriloquist looked at his puppet. "It's not my fault I asked you to be a little more quiet when around tourists."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

"Wait. Are you telling me that you know where the HQ is?" Skidd asked, getting up from the bench and walking over with interest.

The ventriloquist nodded. "We have a couple of friends there, and they told us where the HQ is."

"That's great, man!" Skidd exclaimed.

"Yep. It sure is."

"…"

"…"

"…So?"

"So what?"

"So where is it, man! My lady friend's counting on me!"

"Oh, well the base is-"

"Wait a second!" The sock puppet interrupted. "We'll tell you the location, but it'll cost you for the info."

"I don't believe you, bro!" The ventriloquist snapped at the puppet. "First you con that lombax and his robot out of ten thousand bolts, but now you're trying to get money out of this guy!"

"Hey, I'm just trying to make us some bolts!" The puppet countered. "If it weren't for me getting those bolts from that lombax, we would have starved!"

"That's not the point, man! This is wrong!"

"Your honesty will be our downfall one day, I swear."

Skidd sighed, realizing that unless he did something, a brawl would break up between the ventriloquist and his puppet. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of bolts. "Here's three hundred bolts, man. Now cough up the info."

The ventriloquist sighed and looked at his puppet. "You happy?"

"Very. Go ahead." The puppet replied.

"Thank you." The ventriloquist said as he accepted the money. "Come with me, man."

Skidd followed the strange alien over to the edge of the park, to a railing overlooking the city. "Look out there, man. You see those three big buildings close to each other way out there?"

Skidd had to look around a little, but quickly spotted what the ventriloquist was pointing at. "Yeah?"

"The one in the middle is the Thugs-4-Less base." The alien pointed out. "The quickest way to get there is by grindrail. You'll find it about two blocks to the east."

Skidd nodded. "Thanks, man. That's all I need to know." He turned around and ran off. "Catch ya later, dude!"

Skidd quickly found the grindrail the ventriloquist was talking about. His eyes followed the long rail, which he found indeed headed in the direction of the base. Skidd climbed up onto the ledge and looked out over the city.

"Here's where my hoverboard skills come in handy, man." Skidd said to himself. "I just hoe I haven't like, gotten rusty."

With that, Skidd leapt onto the end of the grindrail and started his trek towards the base.

During the grind, Skidd had realized that he had indeed gotten a little rusty due to the fact that he hadn't stepped on a hoverboard in months. He wobbled in place for a few seconds, but quickly got the hang of it again and continued on.

Skidd continued grinding on the grindrail for about two more minutes and he was beginning to close in on the Thugs-4-Less base. The Rilgarian smirked, seeing that his goal was in sight.

Suddenly, Skidd saw a few birds sitting on the rail just ahead of him, realizing that he had no way to slow down, he did the only thing he could think of.

He plowed right through them.

"Outta the way, dudes!" Skidd shouted, sending birds flying into the air as he hit them. "Crazed Rilgarian coming through!"

On a different part of the city, Ratchet had just landed his ship. Opening the hatch, he and Sasha jumped out and landed on the ground together. They walked over to a nearby railing and looked out among the city. Sasha pulled out a handheld device and pressed a few buttons on it.

"So, you say that thing will help us locate the Thugs-4-Less base?" Ratchet asked.

Sasha nodded. "It'll scan the city for any traces of the thug leader's species." She explained. "And once we find him, we'll find the base."

Ratchet nodded back. "Okay. Let's give it a shot." Suddenly hearing a loud squawk coming from the distance, the lombax pulled out a pair of binoculars and looked in the direction of the noise.

The only thing Ratchet saw was a few birds flying in the air as a strange figure was grinding away. The lombax shrugged as he put the binoculars away. "Someone just plowed into a group of birds on a grindrail." He said.

Sasha didn't hear him. She was mainly focused on the device in her hand. "Ratchet, I think I've picked up something."

"Really? What is it?"

Sasha showed him the device as it displayed a picture of a very familiar figure. "Is that him?"

Ratchet didn't need to look hard. That figure was one he knew all too well. "That's the leader, Sasha. Where is he?" He replied.

Sasha pointed off in the direction of the base. "That way. In the middle building out of those three big ones over there."

Ratchet nodded. "Okay. I think I see it."

"We just need to find some way to get there." Sasha said. "If we take the ship, they'll see us."

"Let's hitch a ride on a taxi, then." Ratchet replied. "Come on, Sasha. There's a pickup point over there."

**(Meanwhile)**

Skidd reached the end of the long grindrail and saw that he had to jump to clear the gap to make it onto the ground again. Skidd crouched low and prepared to jump.

However, he had misjudged the distance he had left. Skidd's feet slammed into the end of the grindrail, launching the Rilgarian across the gap. Skidd landed on his stomach, and quickly jumped to his feet again.

Looking around, Skidd saw that he was amazingly close to the Thugs-4-Less base. Skidd continued on, running the rest of the way. "_This is it, man! I can save Angela!_" He thought as he rounded a corner that led straight into the base.

However, the instant he turned the corner, Skidd froze. He found himself staring at two dog-like aliens, each of them dressed like bikers. Skidd could bet that the two worked for Thugs-4-Less, so he put up his hands.

"Okay, dudes! You're gonna let me through!" Skidd said determinedly. "I have a totally huge score to settle for your boss!"

The shorter, portlier alien scratched his head. "Do we know you?"

"You may not know me, but you probably know my pal, Ratchet!"

The taller alien's eyes widened as he smiled. "Hey! You know Ratchet?" He asked.

Skidd raised an eyebrow as he lowered his fists. "Uh…Yeah. Why?"

"Ratchet's our buddy." The shorter one replied. "We're the only two Desert Riders he really befriended."

"Oh! You dudes are the ones Ratchet told us about!" Skidd exhaled in relief. "Thank goodness. I was thinking I would like, have to fight you dudes."

The taller one shrugged. "We probably would have refused to fight anyway. Hey, what can we do to help you?"

"Well, your boss is holding my lady friend somewhere in your base and I kinda need to know where she is." Skidd replied.

"Oh, the female lombax he returned with a while ago?" The shorter biker asked. "The boss has her on the top floor of the HQ. He's getting ready to send a little message to Ratchet."

"Then I should find her before he sends it." Skidd nodded. "Hey, thanks a bunch, dudes! You've totally helped me out here!"

"Think nothing of it." The taller biker replied. "Anything to help out a buddy of Ratchet."

"I'll be sure to put in a good word for you, dudes!" Skidd said as he ran towards the base. "Catch ya later!"

The two bikers waved as Skidd vanished into the base. The shorter one then looked at his friend. "I wonder what he meant when he said he'd put in a good word for us."

The taller one shrugged. "Maybe he meant he'd try to get us bigger roles in the next game."

"Heh. That'd be sweet."


	6. Reunited

Chapter six: Reunited

Skidd tiptoed through the Thugs-4-Less HQ, hoping that he wouldn't get the attention of any guards. He had done surprisingly well thus far, and kept the info the bikers had told him fresh in his mind. From what he gathered, the Thug leader was holding Angela on the top floor, so the Rilgarian was looking for an elevator that could take him there.

The Rilgarian pressed himself against a wall and loaded his Heavy Lancer. He looked around the corner and saw a couple of guards making their rounds. Skidd waited until the guards turned another corner before leaping out of his hiding place. He quietly ran down the hallway, eventually making it to the end.

Skidd had considered himself extremely lucky that he hadn't come upon the need to fire a shot yet. If he had shot something, he may have alerted the entire base and given away his location.

Eventually, Skidd came upon another hallway. However, unlike the others he had sneaked down, this one was completely empty. Skidd, having an uneasy feeling about this particular hallway, proceeded with frightened caution.

"Dude, someone's gonna jump out at me." Skidd whispered to himself. "Someone's gonna jump out at me. Somone'sgonnajumpoutatmesomeone'sgonnajumpoutatme…"

Skidd paused, frantically jumping back and forth to aim down either end of the hallway. He stood in silence before sighing in relief. "Dude, I guess I'm just so totally paranoid."

With that, Skidd walked off. A few more seconds passed before two thugs jumped out of hiding and started shooting in random directions.

"Wait. Wait." One of the thugs said as the shooting died down. "Crap. We missed him."

"You just HAD to take a bathroom break, didn't you?" The other thug asked.

**(Meanwhile)**

Outside the base, Ratchet and Sasha were approaching a window, getting ready to go inside.

"Tell me why we aren't taking the front door again, Ratchet." Sasha said.

"The front door is probably heavily guarded. If we took this way in, we'd attract less attention." Ratchet explained. "If we want to take out the leader, we need to make sure we don't make too much noise."

"Okay. So how are we going to get in without breaking the window?" Sasha asked.

"The window should slide open easily if I can just get my fingers into it." Ratchet replied as he started prying at the window.

The short lombax quickly got the window open, allowing him and Sasha to get into the base. The two lovers climbed through the now-open window and stepped onto the floor of the base silently.

"We're in." Sasha whispered. "Now let's get going."

Before either of the two had time to move, the window suddenly fell from the pane and crashed against the floor, where it broke into at least fifty pieces. Almost instantly, twenty guns were pointed straight at them.

Ratchet looked at Sasha. "How the heck did that happen?"

"Well, at least we know it wasn't our fault." Sasha said.

Ratchet quickly pulled out a Mini-Nuke and fired, wiping out five of the thugs at once, providing an opening for escape. Ratchet and Sasha ran past the rest of the thugs, Sasha picking off a few with her Tesla Claw.

"What now!" Sasha asked as she and Ratchet ran down the hallway with the rest of the thugs chasing them.

"I don't know!" Ratchet replied.

"You mean you don't have a plan!"

"I'm Ratchet! I don't need no stinking plan!"

"Then let me take care of this!" Sasha said as she grabbed her weapon and aimed it at a target on the wall as she ran. Firing the gun, Sasha made a direct hit with the target, and just as soon as she and Ratchet passed through a doorway.

The instant the two were through the doorway, a steel door closed behind them. The thugs weren't fast enough to stop and slammed into the wall with full force.

"Well, the entire base probably knows we're here." Ratchet said. "We may as well keep running."

**(Meanwhile)**

Skidd screamed as he flew down a hallway, half a dozen thugs right behind him. The Rilgarian aimed his Heavy Bouncer behind him and fired the lone projectile at the group of thugs. As soon as it hit one of the thugs, it exploded into several more, which also exploded. This slowed down the thugs long enough for Skidd to get a little more distance between them.

Skidd had no idea what had happened to cause attention, as he had remained completely quiet and careful no one had seen him. What he didn't know was that one of the windows had broken somewhere else in the base, and the resulting crash had alerted several of the Thugs-4-Less henchmen. They, in turn, had alerted everyone else in the base. A few guards had spotted Skidd and though he was the only intruder, and had been chasing him ever since.

The Rilgarian pulled out his Megarocket Cannon and shot a rocket behind him. The lone rocket slammed into the remaining thugs, taking all of them out.

Now that all of his pursuers were wiped out, nothing stopped Skidd from turning a corner to continue his search for an elevator.

WHAM!

The next thing Skidd knew, he was on the floor, his weapons scattered around at his feet. Shaking his head a couple of times, Skidd looked ahead to see what he had collided with. His eyes snapped open, instantly recognizing the lombax he had ran into.

"RATCHET!"

After running into something, Ratchet had fallen onto his behind, knocking Sasha off her feet at the same time. However, as soon as he heard the voice, one he thought he would never hear again, his eyes snapped open. He looked at the owner of the voice and wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him.

"SKIDD!"

Skidd and Ratchet sprang to their feet and the latter ran at the former. Once Ratchet came close, he jumped into the air and wrapped his arms around Skidd.

"I don't believe it! You're alive!" Ratchet asked.

"I'm just as surprised as you are, man!" Skidd said as he wrapped his arm around Ratchet's neck and gave him a noogie. "It's so good to see you again, bro!"

"Same here, Skidd!"

Sasha ran over to Skidd and threw her arms around the Rilgarian as well. "We've all been worried that you died, Skidd! How come you didn't call the Phoenix?"

"I survived the crash, man." Skidd replied. "My ship didn't." He set Ratchet on the ground and looked at his two friends. "So what are you two dudes doing way out here?"

"We came here to avenge you and take out the Thugs-4-Less leader." Sasha explained before nervously chuckling. "I guess there's no point in that now that you're not dead."

"Hey. What are YOU doing here, Skidd?" Ratchet asked. "You went down over Grelbin."

"The leader's holding my rescuer on the top floor, man! I'm here to rescue her!"

"Your rescuer?"

"Yeah, man! Maybe you'll know her."

Ratchet pondered this for a few seconds before his eyes widened. "You mean ANGELA!"

"Yeah, dude!" Skidd replied. "She totally saved me from the wreckage of my ship!"

"So the leader's got her on the top floor? Why?"

"You and I ruined his contract by saving that cargo ship, bro. He wanted revenge on you, so he's using her to get to you!"

"Well then, let's go up to the top floor and save her, then!" Ratchet said.

"No way, man." Skidd replied. "He's expecting you. He's not expecting me."

"What! I can't let you go alone!" Ratchet said. "I already lost you once, and I don't want to do it again!"

"Dude, Angela's counting on me." Skidd replied. "I don't wanna let her down, man."

Ratchet sighed. "Okay. I can't say this enough, Skidd. Be careful."

"Don't worry about me, bro." Skidd said. "You dudes just try to keep the other thugs from helping their leader."

"We'll try, Skidd." Sasha said. "We'll come up with you to the top floor, but we'll leave taking out the leader to you."

The three reunited friends quickly found an elevator and climbed aboard. Inside, Ratchet pressed the button that would take them to the top floor.

During the ride up to the elevator, Skidd's nerves started getting the better of him again. This was it. He was about to charge headfirst into a battle with an enemy he knew nothing about. He didn't know what kind of firepower the leader would have, or if he was even alone. The only thing that kept Skidd pressing forward was the thought of saving Angela, and that alone was enough to boost Skidd's confidence, if only for a little bit.

Eventually, the elevator arrived at the top floor and all three friends got off. They quickly saw that the resulting hallway spread out in three directions.

Sasha sighed. "Well, this is just great." She said. "How do we find out which way takes up to the leader?"

"Watch and learn, Sasha." Ratchet replied with a smirk as he walked over to a lone thug with his back currently turned to the three. "Excuse me?"

The thug turned around. "Yes?"

"Which hallway takes up to the boss?"

"Oh." The thug pointed off down the far hallway. "Youse just take dat hallway until youse arrive at his office."

"Hey, thanks!"

"No problem." The thug started turning around again to resume his watch when he stopped himself. "Hey, wait a second!"

Ratchet smashed his wrench over the thug's head, knocking him out instantly. The lombax then went over to Skidd and Sasha. "Well Skidd, looks like you're going down the hallway on the left."

"Got it, dude." Skidd nodded. "Hopefully, I'll catch ya later."

"Hey, you just save Angela, okay?" Ratchet said. "From the sound of things and the way you've been acting, you've got feelings for her."

Skidd looked at the ground and nodded.

"Then you go to her and get her out of this." Ratchet continued. "Good luck, pal."

"Thanks, dude. You too."

With that, the group split up, Skidd going one way and Ratchet and Sasha going another.

As soon as Skidd was out of hearing range, Sasha looked at Ratchet sternly. "Who's this 'Angela'?" She asked suspiciously.

Ratchet quickly waved his hands in front of his face. "Hey, hey, hey! I swear, it's not what it sounds like, Sasha! She may have had a crush on me, but I promise nothing happened between us!"

Sasha chuckled. "Don't worry, Ratchet. I believe you." She assured. "Let's just take care of a few thugs."

**(Meanwhile)**

Skidd crept down the hallway, trying his hardest not to make any noise. So far, he hadn't found any stray thugs, and considered that a good thing, because now that he was so close to the leader, the slightest noise could alert him.

Soon, Skidd saw the end of the hallway. He noticed that the hallway led straight into a large room, probably the boss' office. Skidd gulped.

When Skidd got close enough, he saw that it was indeed the leader's office. The leader was standing aside, talking to a videophone image. He quickly saw Angela in the middle of the room, tied to a chair that sat on a slight platform. A cloth was tied over her mouth, gagging her. Skidd, relieved to see Angela alright, tiptoed into the room. It was then that he noticed whom the leader was talking to.

On the video screen, Al sighed. "Look, I'm telling you that Ratchet has been gone for hours! He. Is. NOT. Here."

The Thugs-4-Less leader scratched his head. "Uh…Okay. When he gets in, do youse think he could give me a call back?"

"I'll do my-"

"Yo, lizard-dude!"

The leader raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar voice and turned his head. Al, on the other hand, looked shocked.

"Skidd?" He asked. "Is that Skidd?"

The leader saw what Al couldn't. What he saw was a Rilgarian standing at the doorway to his office, a Heavy Lancer aimed directly at the leader's head. Skidd, although he had a determined look on his face, was shaking like a leaf.

Angela turned her head at the voice and saw the owner at the door. She tried shouting 'Skidd!', but the cloth over her mouth muffled it all.

Although terrified, Skidd continued aiming his gun at the leader. "Let Angela go, man! D-Don't make me use force!"

"Who are youse, moron?" The leader asked.

"I'm the dude you shot d-down over Grelbin, man! And n-now you're holding my friend here, so I'm t-telling you to l-let her go!"

The leader smirked and pulled out a blaster. "I think not, moron. I'm waitin for dat Ratchet moron ta show up."

Skidd's response was to shoot the blaster out of the leader's hand. "He's not coming, man." He said, his confidence a little higher again. "And besides, how are you gonna beat me without a giant mech, dude? You had one against Ratchet and you STILL lost."

The leader once again smirked. "I may not have a mech this time, but I got something else." With that, he pressed a button on his suit.

Skidd watched as two wings sprouted from the leader's backpack, which in turn sprouted two missile-launchers. The wings lifted the leader off the ground, taking him up into the air.

"Scared yet, moron?" The leader asked.

Skidd was about to nod, but remembered that Angela was counting on him to finish the fight. He shook his head. "No way, man! I'll take you down, save Angela and get out of here in five minutes!"

"We'll see about that."

Almost instantly, several missiles fired from the launchers on the thug leader's wings, sending all of them straight at Skidd. The Rilgarian quickly jumped to the side and allowed the rockets to slam into he ground where he had been standing. Skidd fired several shots from the Heavy Lancer at the leader, but the lizard-like alien swerved to the side. The Lancer bolts then proceeded to bomb the ceiling of the office.

The leader flew to the other side of the office and pulled out a grenade. Smirking, the Thugs-4-Less boss hurled the grenade at Skidd. Skidd let out an awkward-sounding shout as he dove aside. The grenade lande don the ground, where it quickly exploded.

The leader continued firing missiles at Skidd. The Rilgarian quickly jumped behind a steel desk and covered himself behind it. The missiles slammed into the desk, bringing no harm to Skidd.

"Youse can't keep dis up forever, buddy!" The leader taunted. "Youse may as well come out and get dis over with!"

Skidd narrowed his eyes, pulled out his Megarocket Cannon and loaded it. "You're asking for it, dude!"

With that, Skidd jumped to his feet, spun around and fired a rocket at the airborne reptilian alien. The rocket slammed into one of the missile-launchers, destroying it completely.

The leader looked at the smoldering wreckage on his shoulder and growled. "Youse gonna pay for dat."

Skidd quickly jumped over the desk he was hiding behind and prepared to continue the onslaught. However, he suddenly remembered that he had only destroyed one of the two missile-launchers. The leader quickly fired several more missiles from the solo launcher in Skidd's direction.

The Rilgarian dove to the side and again allowed the missiles to strike the ground. However, just as Skidd was getting to his feet, the leader swooped down and drove his fists into Skidd's stomach.

And if that weren't enough, the leader continued flying upwards, this time taking Skidd with him. Once he had reached the ceiling of the office, he let go of Skidd, dropping the screaming Rilgarian to the ground, where he landed with a loud thud.

"Youse gonna die, and den I'll kill youse little girlfriend!" The leader snarled. "I was thinking dat Ratchet would come rescue her, but I guess I overestimated him."

In all honesty, the leader shouldn't have said that.

That last comment struck a nerve with Skidd. His eyes were wide, and yet narrowed at the same time. He started seething at the leader as he stood to his feet and pulled out the Megarocket Cannon again.

"YOU! (BLAM!) WILL! (BLAM!) NOT! (BLAM!) TOUCH! (BLAM!) ANGELA! (BLAM!) DUDE! (BLAMBLAMBLAM!)"

The last rocket not only destroyed the other missile-launcher, but obliterated the wing it was attached to as well. Without both wings, the leader could do nothing as he plummeted straight into the ground. Skidd walked over to him.

The leader looked up, and the last thing he saw was Skidd swinging his Megarocket Cannon down on his head.

Skidd turned from the now-unconscious Thugs-4-Less leader and rushed over to Angela, whom looked like she was trying to tell him something.

"Are you okay, Angela?" Skidd asked as he untied the knot in the cloth around her mouth. "He didn't like, hurt you or anything, did he?"

As soon as her mouth was free, Angela told Skidd what she wanted to say. "Get out of here, Skidd! While you still have time, run! Leave me!"

Skidd stepped back in surprise. "Angela, what's wrong? The bad dude's been beaten and you're safe and stuff."

"You don't understand, Skidd!" Angela cried desperately. "There's a bomb under this chair! It's set to go off any minute now!"


	7. Battle's End

Chapter seven: Battle's End

"A BOMB!" Skidd shrieked.

Angela nodded furiously. "It was meant for Ratchet when he was supposed to show up! The timer started as soon as you came into the room!"

Skidd ran around Angela and started untying the knots keeping her bound to the chair. Seeing this, Angela's eyes widened. "Skidd! What're you doing! Get out of here! There's not enough time to free me!" Tears started coming to her eyes, realizing that Skidd could get killed for her sake.

Although Skidd was afraid that he may end up getting killed for real this time, he vigorously shook his head. "There's like, no way I'm leaving you to die, Angela! If you have to die, we're going together!"

Skidd was surprised at the words that came out of his own mouth. Not only was he willing to risk his life to save Angela, but he was willing to die with her if necessary? As he continued to frantically work on the ropes, Skidd's mind raced. Why was he willing to do all of this for Angela?

"_It's gotta be love, man._" Skidd thought. "_I don't like, understand it. I've never felt for any woman like how I feel for Angela._"

Within seconds, Skidd had freed Angela. He quickly took her hand in his. "Like, come on! We need to find Ratchet and Sasha before the bomb goes off, man!"

"Ratchet's here!"

"Yeah, dude! The little guy came here to avenge me, but now he and his girlfriend are totally wiping out the other thugs!"

**(Meanwhile)**

Sasha picked off a few thugs with her Tesla Claw as Ratchet struck several more with a swing of his wrench. The two lovers had been fighting thugs ever since they split up with Skidd, and they were wiping the floor with anyone that came at them. Most of the thugs had been alerted that someone was fighting their boss, and were on their way to help him. However, that meant that they had to cross paths with Ratchet and Sasha.

And, of course, that usually meant that they got blasted.

"These guys are easier to whack than bugs." Sasha remarked as she kicked a thug in the head. "If I had known this, I would have gone into battle a lot more."

"You get used to it." Ratchet said, swinging his wrench again. "Just be careful you don't let your guard down because these guys can overpower you if you're not paying attention."

"I'll keep that in mind." Sasha nodded as she fired her Tesla Claw again, taking out a few more thugs. She pulled out a Mini-Turret and threw it. Once it touched the ground, the Mini-Turret started shooting in random directions, mowing down a few more thugs.

Sasha turned and saw a couple more thugs sneaking up on Ratchet from behind while he was attacking a few others. Thinking quickly, Sasha whipped out a Spitting Hydra and fired a bolt, which traveled between both of the thugs, taking both of them out at once.

Ratchet turned just in time to see his would-be attackers collapse to the ground. He smirked at Sasha. "Looks like you were right, Sasha." He remarked. "You DID end up saving my neck."

"I told you, didn't I?" Sasha asked with a sly smirk.

A few more swings from Ratchet's wrench and the remaining thugs were down for the count. The two lovers stood amongst the fallen bodies triumphantly.

"Well, that's that." Ratchet said. "Come on, Sasha. Let's go see if we can help Skidd finish off the leader."

The two were about to continue on when they heard a pair of loud footsteps running in their direction. The two turned and prepared for another fight, expecting more thugs to come around the corner.

Imagine their surprise when Skidd and Angela came running around the corner, holding hands and looking frantic.

"Skidd!" Ratchet said as he lowered his weapon. "Why're you so freaked out. You saved Angela, didn't you?"

"Someone set us up the bomb, dude!" Skidd shouted.

"What! There was a bomb in the office!" Sasha asked.

Angela nodded. "Yes! And we're running out of time!"

"Come on!" Ratchet said as he and everyone else ran down the hallway, not really sure as to what they were going to do.

"We need to get back to the elevator, man!" Skidd shouted.

"We'll never make it if we take the elevator!" Sasha replied. "We need a faster way out!"

"But we're on the top floor!" Angela shouted as Skidd pulled her along. "How else can we get out!"

As the four saw an approaching window, an idea suddenly popped into Ratchet's head. He quickly turned to his girlfriend, whom was right beside him. "Sasha, are you wearing Gravity Boots?"

Sasha nodded. "It's mandatory for all Galactic Rangers to wear a pair at all times!" She replied.

"Skidd! How about you!"

"Yeah, man! I'm wearing my pair! Why?"

Ratchet narrowed his eyes at the window. "We're going out!"

Skidd suddenly caught on to what Ratchet was getting at. He quickly looked at the female lombax holding his hand. "Angela, get on my back!"

Still unsure of what was going to happen, Angela nodded and jumped onto Skidd's back as he ran. Due to her light weight, Skidd had no problem maintaining speed. The Rilgarian then pulled out his Heavy Lancer and shot out the window, providing an opening.

"Here we go, everyone!" Ratchet shouted. "Get ready!"

Once the group got close enough to the open window, they all made a leap of faith out of it. Ratchet, Sasha and Skidd, with Angela on his back, started a free-fall towards the ground hundreds of feet below.

"Gravity Boots, activate!" Ratchet, Sasha and Skidd shouted at almost the same time (although Skidd threw in a 'dude' at the end).

Almost instantly, the Gravity Boots on the feet of Ratchet, Sasha and Skidd took effect. The three were pulled towards the outside wall of the building, where they made contact. And because she was on Skidd's back, Angela was now safe from falling to her death.

The three started running down the side of the base at different speeds. Ratchet and Sasha were pretty close together as Skidd brought up the rear. Angela held onto Skidd for dear life, but knew that they were going to make it now.

Once they got close enough to the ground, the three jumped and fell the rest of the way, landing safely on his or her feet. Once they were on the ground, Angela got off Skidd's back.

"Come on!" Ratchet said. "Our taxi's still waiting for us!"

The four quickly ran over to the floating, yellow cab at the edge of the platform they were on. It took a bit of effort, but all four of the mismatched figures managed to step onto the taxi, which quickly started flying off towards the spot where Ratchet and Sasha had parked.

Skidd was the first to look back at the Thugs-4-Less base. He watched as flames erupted from every window on the top floor. It wasn't enough to bring the entire building down, but the damage was done. Skidd knew that if they had taken the elevator, the explosion would have broken the cable and sent everyone down the shaft, probably to their doom. As insane as it sounded, walking down the wall was actually the safer way in that situation.

Everyone stood in silence, watching the base. The only sound any of them made was the deep breathing coming from each of them. After a few seconds, Ratchet broke the ice. "Okay, Skidd. I think you owe us a few explanations."

"Shoot, little dude." Skidd looked down at his friend.

"Why didn't you call us and let us know you survived the crash in the first place?" Ratchet asked. "Everyone's been so upset."

"Well, I would have, man. Except that it's kinda hard to make a call when the videophone was destroyed in the wreck and stuff."

Ratchet shrugged. "Okay. I guess that's a good reason."

"I have a question as well, Skidd." Sasha added. "How'd you get into the base?"

"Oh, that's totally easy, Sasha." Skidd replied with a smile. "The front door was almost completely unguarded!"

Ratchet and Sasha stood in silence for a few seconds before the latter smacked the former upside the head.

"On a lighter note, it's great to see you again, Ratchet." Angela said before rubbing her head. "I just wish that it could have been a better situation."

"Hey, it's not your fault. That big loser just made a really stupid mistake in taking you to get to me." Ratchet replied.

Angela nodded. "Well, even though your reason for coming was to avenge Skidd here, I'm glad you and your girlfriend came. In taking out the rest of the thugs, you most likely prevented Skidd from having a tougher fight against the leader."

"Don't mention it, Angela."

Soon, the taxi arrived at the spot where Ratchet had parked his ship. He and Sasha got off, but Skidd and Angela remained on the taxi.

"You coming, Skidd?" Sasha asked.

"Uh, not at the moment, dudes." Skidd replied. "I sorta had to take Angela's ship to come here, and I like, parked at a different part of the city."

Ratchet nodded. "Okay. You wanna go with Angela back to her home planet and we'll pick you up there, then."

"Sounds like a plan, man." Skidd said as he pressed a few keys on the taxi keypad, typing in the destination. "Catch ya later!"

With that, Skidd and Angela flew off. Once they had gone far enough away from Ratchet and Sasha, Angela surprised Skidd by throwing her arms around him.

"A-Angela? W-What-" Skidd started to say.

"I just wanted to thank you for doing what you did back there." Angela said softly and with a smile on her face. "I never thought anyone would actually be willing to die for me if necessary."

"Believe me, Angela." Skidd replied. "To me, you're worth me risking my neck."

Angela's eyes widened slightly, then pulled away from hugging Skidd. "You mean that?"

"Well…Yeah." Skidd said. "I'm not exactly the bravest person out there, but man, during the entire time I was in the base, the only thing I could like, think of was you."

Skidd and Angela were now no longer paying attention to what was going on around them. They were simply staring into each other's eyes.

"You're real sweet, Skidd." Angela said with a smile (which Skidd thought looked beautiful). "Ratchet was never like this the last time I saw him."

Skidd swallowed hard. It was now or never. "Well, actually there's like, one more thing."

"Yes?" Angela asked hopefully.

"I know we haven't like, known each other for very long, Angela." Skidd said. "But, the entire time I was with you, I like, felt some totally wicked feelings I had never felt before. At first, I didn't think too much of it, but as the time went on, the feeling was like, getting so much stronger. And now, after all this, I like, finally understand what that feeling is."

Angela held her breath.

"I-I think I like…Love you, Angela."

Fresh tears started coming to Angela's eyes. Suddenly, without warning, she pulled Skidd in and pressed her lips against his. Skidd was taken aback by this sudden action from the female lombax, but quickly recovered and kissed Angela back, wrapping his arms around her.

The two kissed for what seemed like forever, but finally broke away. It was then that they realized that they had arrived back at Angela's ship. They also noticed a very familiar alien with a sock puppet standing aside, staring at them with wide eyes.

"Man. A Rilgarian kissing a lombax. Now I've seen everything." The ventriloquist said as he turned and walked away.

"And here I was thinking that the strangest thing we ever saw was those Thyrranoids doing the cha-cha wearing underwear on their heads." The puppet added.

"Dude, Thyrranoids don't HAVE heads."

"Exactly."

Skidd and Angela, in the meantime, had stepped off the taxi.

"Skidd, you have no IDEA how long I've been waiting to hear a guy say those words to me." Angela said. "And I'm really glad that it turned out to be you saying them!"

"R-Really? Why's that, man?"

"Because while I was in the base back there, the only thing I could hope was that it would be you to come save me. However, once the leader told me that I was sitting on an active bomb, I quickly hoped that you wouldn't show." Angela explained. "Because then, you wouldn't put yourself in harm's way for me. I realized that once you actually showed, I had loved you as well."

"Well, let's just put that whole thing behind us, man." Skidd said. "The last thing I wanna think about right now is those bogus dudes back there."

"You and me both Skidd." Angela said. A short silence followed before Angela spoke again. "How do you think this will work, Skidd? I mean, you're a Rilgarian and I'm a lombax. At least Ratchet and Sasha look sorta alike. You and I, however, don't look anything alike."

"We'll make it work, man." Skidd assured. "The only thing I'm worried about is how we'll be like, able to solve this problem of like, living in two different galaxies."

"Don't worry, Skidd." Angela replied with a smile. "I know how we can fix that."

**(Space)**

Three ships left Damosel's orbit at almost the same time.

On the first ship were Ratchet and Sasha. The male lombax flew the ship through space, a smirk clearly visible on his face.

"You seem awfully pleasant, Ratchet." Sasha remarked. "And, if I remember, that's the exact opposite of what you looked like going into orbit."

"What's NOT to be happy about?" Ratchet asked. "Skidd's alive, Sasha! And he just went through a situation where he normally would have been scared stiff about. You have no idea how proud of him I am right now!"

"Yes, I do." Sasha nodded. "I am extremely proud of him myself. The way he apparently handled things back there are unlike anything else he's ever done while on the Phoenix, you know."

"Yeah." Ratchet nodded. "I guess Skidd's been just full of surprises lately."

"Hey, thanks for the compliments, dudes."

Ratchet and Sasha quickly looked at the video screen, where Skidd was calling in from the second ship. He wasn't flying the ship, so that obviously meant Angela was at the controls.

"Listen, Ratchet." Skidd said. "There's been a change of plans. You and Sasha go ahead back to the Phoenix. I'll meet up with you after I help Angela pack, man."

"Okay. That sounds like a-" Ratchet said before something dawned on him. "Pack? Pack for what?"

Angela's head suddenly came in from the side of the screen. "Isn't it obvious, Ratchet?" She asked. "I'm coming back to the ship with you."

"You're coming back with us?" Sasha asked, surprised.

Angela nodded. "Yep. Hey, I think my skills with mechanics could come in handy." She let out a light chuckle. "Besides, how do you expect Skidd and I to date each other if we're in two different galaxies?"

"Oh, well I guess that makes…" Ratchet said before pausing for a few seconds. "…Wait. Date! You mean to tell us that you guys are-"

"In love, dude!" Both Skidd and Angela said at the same time before they both started laughing.

"Well, if that's the case, we'd be glad to have you aboard, Angela." Sasha nodded.

"Thanks, Sasha!" Angela replied. "I guess we'll meet you back at the ship, then!"

"Yeah! Catch ya there, dudes!" Skidd chimed in before the screen cut off, ending the conversation.

Ratchet sat back in stunned silence. Sasha noticed this and looked at him with concern. "You okay, Ratchet?"

Ratchet nodded, then smiled. "Yeah. I guess it's just surprising that Skidd has more surprises than we thought."

"Well, let's get back to the Phoenix. I'm sure Skidd has quite the story to tell when he gets back himself."

Ratchet again nodded. "Got it. Here we go!"

With that, Ratchet's ship zoomed off in one direction while Angela's went in another, making a quick pit stop at Grelbin.

Meanwhile, in the third ship, two distinctive figures were having a very complex conversation themselves.

"Say, if you were given another gig, what kinda role would you like to have?" The shorter, fatter Desert Rider asked his buddy.

"Well, if I'm being completely honest, I wouldn't mind doing a scene with that Edwina chick from the first game." The taller biker replied. "She was cute."


	8. Epilouge

Chapter eight: Epilogue

**(Grelbin)**

Skidd handed Angela another shirt. "You like, sure you wanna do this, Angela?"

"Of course." Angela said as she accepted the shirt and packed it on one of her suitcases. "Mr. Fizzwidget is okay with me taking time off because I've always worked real hard at Megacorp."

"But, you'll be in a different galaxy, man." Skidd said. "You won't be used to anything."

"It won't take me long to do so, Skidd." Angela insisted. "And besides, I think it's about time for a change of scenery."

"Well, okay." Shidd shrugged as he handed Angela another shirt. "If you're positive that it's okay with you."

"It will, Skidd. I promise." Angela replied. She paused as she looked at her new boyfriend again. "Say, what are the rest of the crew on the ship like?"

"Hey, they're a cool bunch." Skidd said, flashing a thumb's up. "The only thing is that I like, suggest you stay away from our head trainer Helga during lunch. She can get like, pretty touchy."

Angela chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind." She was silent for another few seconds. "How do you think everyone will react when they find out you're not dead?"

Skidd shrugged. "I dunno. But after all we've been through with those dudes back on Damosel, I'd take any reaction."

"Yeah." Angela said as she placed another kiss on Skidd's cheek. "I still can't believe you did all that for me. You have no idea how wonderful it felt to have someone care about me enough to do what you did."

"Hey, it's cool, man." Skidd chuckled. "Angela, I love you. Even though I was like, totally terrified, I swore to myself that I would like, get you outta there."

Angela's smile vanished as she sighed sadly. "But there's one thing. You did so many things for me back there. You came after me, braved the base, defeated the leader and got us both out of there before the bomb went." She wrapped her arms around Skidd. "I just wish tere was a way for me to make it all up to you."

"Hey, I think we're even, man." Skidd said as he returned the hug. "You saved me from my ship, helped me recover and now you're actually like, coming back to the Solona Galaxy with me. That's totally awesome to me, Angela."

"Well, thank you, Skidd." Angela said as she pulled away from the hug. "Come on. Let's get me packed so we can start our journey back to the Phoenix."

Skidd nodded. "Will do." He said as he grabbed a couple more shirts and a pair of pants.

**(Phoenix)**

In all honesty, Skidd wasn't expecting much when he got back to the Phoenix. A few people saying they were glad to see him at most. However, what he received instead was something he wouldn't have expected in a million years.

He couldn't see anything until Angela had actually flown her ship into the Phoenix docking bay. Once Skidd got a good look at the docking bay, his eyes widened.

Everyone aboard the Phoenix was standing around cheering wildly for the ship that had just puled in. Ratchet, Clank, Sasha and Skrunch stood at the left side of the bay, each of them looking extremely happy. It was then that Skidd noticed an adorable little protopet sitting on Ratchet's shoulder, but the Rilgarian paid it no mind.

On the right side of the bay were Al and Helga. Each of them was cheering, and Skidd was shocked at how happy Helga looked. He had never seen the trainer express so much emotion at one time. Scattered around the docking bay were the robotic rangers, cheering at different times.

Skidd suddenly noticed a banner posted above the doorway leading to the platform that went to the bridge. Written across it (pretty poorly, Skidd noted. One of the rangers probably wrote it) were the words 'WELCOME BACK, SKIDD' (although the K in 'BACK' was written backwards).

Angela looked around in awe, then looked at Skidd. "I had no idea you were so popular here!"

The look on Skidd's face showed that he was even more surprised than his new girlfriend. "Neither did I, man."

After Angela parked the ship, the hatch opened and the two new lovers jumped out, landing on the ground. Almost instantly, the rest of the people started swarming them (mainly Skidd, though).

As some of the galactic rangers were swarming Skidd with questions and friendly handshakes, the Rilgarian suddenly saw Helga coming through the crowd. Skidd was surprised at the large smile plastered on her face, but stood still as she approached.

Once she reached him, Helga did something completely out of character for her: She wrapped her arms around him in a huge, bone-crushing bear hug. Shidd gasped for breath as Helga's grip felt like it crushed his rips.

"Hey…Helga…" Skidd said, gasping for breath. "What's…Up?"

"Ve haff been so vorried about you, McMarxx!" Helga exclaimed. "Ve think you vere dead! I haff to admeet dat I haff never been so glad to see you!"

Skidd let out a very painful-sounding chuckle. "Heh…Really?"

Helga placed Skidd back on the ground. "Und dat's not all. Vhile you vere gone, I made a new training course in your honor!"

"It's really fun, sir!" A nearby soldier pointed out. "It trains us all how to hoverboard! It's supposed to be real good to keep us alert!"

"Really? That's cool, Helga!" Skidd said, secretly rubbing his rips. "I like, have a feeling that you'll totally have more people coming in!"

Suddenly, something jumped on Skidd's back from behind, making him stagger forward slightly. Once he regained his balance, the Rilgarian looked at the ground and saw Ratchet's protopet at his feet, jumping up and down excitedly.

"Hey, little guy." Skidd said as he picked up the little ball of fuzz. "Where'd you come from, anyway?"

"Hey, Skidd!" The Rilgarian turned around and saw Ratchet coming over. "I see you've met Skidder."

"Skidder?" Skidd asked. "Heh. That kinda sounds like my name, bro."

"That was the point, actually." Ratchet replied, rubbing his head sheepishly. "After you had 'died', the soldiers got me the little guy. I decided to name him after you."

Skidd blushed. "Wow, man. I never thought anyone would do that for me."

"Well, I sorta owed it to you." Ratchet replied.

"You did? Why, man?"

Realization suddenly dawned on the lombax. He had never told Skidd what he had done in the dogfight over Grelbin. "Hey, Skidd? Can you and I talk in private for a second?"

Uh…Sure, bro."

Skidd followed Ratchet away from the little party everyone was having. The two ended up in the entertainment room. Once they arrived, the two friends sat on a couch.

"What did you wanna say, Ratchet?" Skidd asked.

"Well…There's something you don't really know about that battle we had over Grelbin." Ratchet replied.

"Really? What is it?"

"Look, you know that shot that took you down and sent you falling towards the planet below?"

"The one that blew off my wing? Yeah, man. What about it?"

"Well, as it turned out. The leader was aiming at me when he fired the shot." Ratchet replied, looking at the floor. "You accidentally flew in front of the laser, and it struck your ship."

Skidd's eyes widened, but remained silent as Ratchet continued.

"Skidd, that shot was meant for me, and yet you were the one who took it." Ratchet sighed. "You saved my life then, Skidd. You saved my life and the only thing on my mind after that was how much I had let you down."

"What? No way, man!" Skidd replied. "What makes you think that, Ratchet?"

"Ever since you went down over Grelbin, I spent a lot of time thinking of how much more I could have done to save you. Being more aware, spotting the Thugs-4-Less leader earlier." Ratchet sniffed as he wiped his eyes of the tears starting to form. "I just feel that there could have been something I could have done to prevent you from getting hit."

"Look, bro. I don't blame you for what happened, man." Skidd said, placing a hand on Ratchet's shoulder. No one could have like, prevented what happened back there." He let out a light chuckle. "In fact, I'm sorta glad that it happened."

Ratchet looked at his friend. "What? Why?"

Skidd smiled. "Because if it never happened, I wouldn't have like, met Angela."

Ratchet chuckled weakly. "Yeah. I guess not." His small smile vanished as he looked at the floor again. "I just can' help but feel guilty about it, though."

"Hey, even if I had known the laser was coming, I would've taken the shot, man." Skidd said.

"Really? Why's that?"

"Look, Ratchet. What I'm about to tell you has to be kept secret, man." Skidd replied. "Not even Clank or Sasha can know."

Ratchet nodded and wiped his eyes, urging Skidd to continue.

"I doubt that you felt the same about me, but I always considered you my best bud. I always looked up to you, man. The whole reason I even like, came on the mission to Aquatos on my own accord was like, because I wanted to hang with you and see if I could help you out." Skidd replied. "Of course, during that mission, I was like, terrified of anything besides you and Clank. And I felt really guilty for bailing on you two when we encountered that totally freaky thing in the cylinder." Skidd paused for a few seconds. "Hey, by the way, man. What WAS that thing, anyway?"

"Uh…Nothing." Ratchet said, knowing that Slim Cognito wanted everything about him to be kept a secret.

Skidd shrugged. "Well, I wanted to make it up to you dudes by like, coming on the Obani Moons mission. You all know how that went." He sighed. "I just like, wanted to have a chance to show my thanks to you, man. You've let me come on missions, totally hung out with me more than anyone else on the ship, and saved me from spending the rest of my life as a robot. Hey, if I had to take a shot for you to show you how much I like, consider you a pal, I would totally do it."

The Rilgarian looked his small friend in the eye. "Look, bro. What I'm saying is that I totally don't blame you or what happened because you're my best bud. So like, stop blaming yourself, man, because it SO wasn't your fault."

Ratchet's eyes got teary again. Never in his wildest dreams did he think that Skidd considered him that much of a friend. Now that he thought about it, Skidd was right. Ratchet was almost the only one on the Phoenix to spend a lot of time with Skidd, and the only missions Skidd ever went on were ones the Rilgarian said he wanted to help out in. Never once during Qwark's time on the ship was Skidd called for a mission. It was all Ratchet, Clank and, on occasion, Skrunch. Skidd had come along, on his own free will, to give Ratchet a hand on a number of occasions, even after the Dr. Nefarious war was over. He definitely acted terrified during those missions, but he still came on his own, with the sole purpose of assisting Ratchet and Clank.

The lombax never really had many people he could consider his 'best friends'. Clank was actually the only one up until he met Sasha. And up until now, there was no one else that could have been considered a best friend to Ratchet. Just Clank and Sasha.

Well, now there was three.

Ratchet stood up on the couch and walked over to Skidd. He gave his friend a tight hug, surprising the Rilgarian.

"Thanks, Skidd." The teary-eyed lombax said. "You're the best."

"I told you, bro. You're my best bud." Skidd assured, hugging Ratchet back. "Hey, thanks for letting me talk, man. That really took a load off my chest."

"Yeah. Me too." Ratchet said as he pulled away from the hug. "Well, I'm done. Now, you go out there and see your girlfriend again."

"Thanks, bro." Skidd said as he stood up. The two of them left the entertainment room and started walking down the hall again.

Ratchet dried his tears for the final time and looked up at Skidd. "I know this must sound strange, Skidd, but I think you and Angela make the perfect couple."

"Really, dude?" Skidd asked. "You don't think it's strange that we're two different species?"

Ratchet shook his head. "Nope. You forget that Sasha and I are different species as well?"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry, man."

"Don't worry about it. I don't know why you do, but I just think that you two look so good together." Ratchet explained. "There's just something about you two that seems to click. It's almost as if you were destined to be together."

"I sure hope so, dude." Skidd said hopefully. "Angela's like, the best girl I've ever met. I just hope I can like, make her happy."

A thought suddenly occurred to Ratchet. "I think I know a way to start."

"Really?" Skidd asked, stopping his walk. "What is it, bro?"

Skidd bent over as Ratchet whispered something into his ear. Skidd's eyes widened as he looked down at Ratchet. "Are you serious, dude!"

Ratchet nodded. "I've seen her in action before, Skidd. Trust me, she likes it."

Now it was Skidd's turn to nod. "Okay, man! After this party is over, I'm SO gonna take her there!"

**(Rilgar)**

Skidd and Angela walked along part of Blackwater City on Rilgar. Well, Skidd was more the less guiding Angela along, as she was blindfolded and unaware of where Skidd was taking her.

"Where are we going, Skidd?" Angela asked. "I know we're on Rilgar, but I've had this blindfold on ever since we entered the city."

"We're almost there, Angela." Skidd said. "We're totally getting close."

Angela allowed herself to be led through Blackwater City, which was almost finished being reconstructed after the Thyrranoid attack. Eventually, Skidd stopped walking and looked at Angela.

"Okay. We're here, Angela. You ready?" Skidd asked.

Angela nodded. "Yes."

Skidd undid the blindfold around Angela's eyes and removed it. Once her eyes were able to see again, Angela saw a vast track spread out across the ground, like a racecourse.

"Wow!" Angela looked around in awe. "Is this a racetrack?"

"Not just any racetrack, Angela." Skidd said. Angela turned and saw him holding two hoverboards. "It's a hoverboard course. The most totally wicked course on the planet, and my personal favourite spot."

"How did you know I like to hoverboard?" Angela asked, still stunned at the length and size of the track that lay before her.

"One, you packed your board with the rest of your things, and two, Ratchet told me."

Angela chuckled. "That would do it, I guess."

"So," Skidd said, handing Angela her board. "You wanna take it for a spin and have a race?"

Angela smirked. "You're SO on, Skidd." She planted a kiss on Skidd's cheek, jumped on her hoverboard and took off.

"WOOHOO!" Angela shouted as she turned the first corner.

Skidd stood in silence for a few seconds before leaping into the air. "WOO! What a woman!" With that, Skidd threw his hoverboard to the ground, jumped on and took off after Angela.

Meanwhile, Ratchet and Sasha looked over a railing, watching the two lovebirds race.

Sasha looked at Ratchet and smirked. "So are you through playing matchmaker?" She asked playfully.

"It wasn't me." Ratchet chuckled. "They already had the relationship. I just gave it a kick-start."

"Well, I'm glad you did." Sasha said, draping her arms around Ratchet's neck from behind. "Just look at those two. They're perfect for each other."

"Yep." Ratchet says. "And the best part? They deserve each other."

"You know, Ratchet? You still haven't told me why your eyes were puffy and red after you had your talk with Skidd back on the Phoenix." Sasha said.

"Oh, nothing much." Ratchet replied with a warm smile. "Skidd just made me realize how much of a friend he is."


End file.
